Jeff Quinney took a long road to the PGA Tour after his U.S. Amateur triumph seven years ago. Now that he’s finally made it, he’s feeling right at home.
The former Arizona State star shot an 8-under 63 on Friday to take a three-shot lead before darkness suspended play at the FBR Open in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Quinney, a PGA Tour rookie after five years on the Nationwide Tour, was at 13-under 129 through 36 holes after a dominating second round under bright sunshine on the TPC Scottsdale course.
Billy Mayfair and Bart Bryant were three shots back at 10-under 132 after 66s.
Mayfair hasn’t won on the tour since 1998 and is coming off a difficult year that included a divorce, surgery for testicular cancer and his mother’s stroke.
But his game has been terrific this week on a course that’s just a few hundred yards from his home.
He chipped in from 85 yards for an eagle on the 552-yard, par-5 15th hole to reach 11-under before his only bogey of the day on the 18th.
“I hope an old guy wins once in awhile like myself,” the 40-year-old Mayfair said, “but it’s good to see these young guys come off the Nationwide Tour and start playing well immediately out here, because that’s what that tour is for.”
Bryant, finishing just before darkness fell, made a birdie on his final hole, the 464-yard, par-4 ninth.
Bubba Watson, John Rollins and Robert Garrigus were four back at 9-under.
Among the 18 players on the course when play was suspended was Charles Howell III, who was 9-under with two holes to play.
Quinney had nine birdies and one bogey on the 7,216-yard layout, where the start of play was delayed 40 minutes by frost. But the sun quickly made conditions ideal.
“It was one of those days where you get in the zone and you feel like nothing can go wrong,” Quinney said.
He said his confidence has been building after his recent success – a tie for fourth at the Bob Hope Classic two weeks ago and a tie for seventh at last week’s Buick Invitational, where he was paired with Tiger Woods in the third round.
Playing with Woods, who was en route to his seventh consecutive PGA Tour victory, was an added boost.
“Just to be thrown in the fire, playing against the No. 1 player in the world,” Quinney said. “It seemed like he was heads above everybody else. To be right with him playing 18 holes – I think I bogeyed the last hole and lost by one to him that day – but that just kind of proved to me that I can play at this level, and on the weekend. It gave me a lot of confidence.”
European Tour: Tiger Woods shot a 5-under-par 67 in the second round of the Dubai Desert Classic in the United Arab Emirates and was five strokes behind clubhouse leader Ross Fisher.
